12 days in Laos

We have spent the last 12 days in Laos, a country not even on our itinerary. We entered the country from Nang Khai, Thailand and arrived in Vientiane, the Capital City. Right away we could tell the country was not as developed as others we have visited. We spent New Years Eve and New Years Day there. We saw a few sights, while a  few others we wanted to see were closed for the holiday.

The third day we took a minibus, which was really a very crowded van, four hours to Vang Vieng (you really need to hear Seth pronounce this to truly appreciate it). Vang Vieng has a reputation for a party backpackers hangout so we weren't quite sure what to expect. But what we found was a laid back fun place along the NamSong river. We had fun kayaking, caving, swimming in the river, riding what seemed like the oldest bikes in Laos and eating lots of food. We found one restaurant that we all really liked and ended up eating 6 meals there.  We had so much fun in Vang Vieng that we ended up staying two extra nights.  The party element is certainly there, but it's also easy to avoid it.

Sunset in Vang Vieng

Biking in Vang Vieng on a one speed bike without brakes!  We had bananas in the basket for lunch and by the time we arrived they were completely mushy from all the bouncing.

Barber Shop where the boys got their hair cut

Seth getting a haircut

Nightly visit to the pancake stand

The kids all bought hats in Vang Vieng

Our favorite restaurant in Vang Vieng

The next part of the adventure was getting from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. It involved riding a bus for 8 hours on narrow, winding, bumpy mountain roads. At the beginning of the ride, I was enjoying the scenery (magnificent mountains) and planning future trips in my head. By the end of the ride I was congratulating myself for not throwing up and dreaming of returning home and never going anywhere else again.

In Luang Prabang our guesthouse was right across from one of the many Buddhist Temples and about a ten minute walk from the night market. We found the food alley at the market, and for 10,000 K ($1.25) you can fill a plate with as much food as you want. We took a bamboo weaving class which was actually a bit harder than it looks. We also got up early one morning to watch the Monks walk around the town to collect alms. They line up and walk around barefoot while local townspeople give them food. We stayed on the opposite side of the street to observe without interfering.  While Luang Prabang was nice, we failed to find the charm of the city that guide books say is there.

Weaving class in Luang Prabang

The final part of Laos was the slow boat on the MeKong to the Thailand border. We hadn't purchased tickets beforehand but had heard you can just show up and get them. We arrived at the boat dock and was told the ticket office opened at 7:30. Precisely at 7:46 someone arrived at the ticket office to sell tickets in a most inefficient, yet effective manner. We got onto the boat by walking on a small board. We claimed our seats which look like 1970's era old minivan seats which are not bolted in so it's possible to end up with more or less leg room along the way. The scheduled departure was 8:30 and we left promptly at 8:44.

The ride was absolutely gorgeous with mountains and hills on each side of the river. The morning was a bit cool with fog. It almost felt like we were in some fantasy world as we made our journey along the river. Occasionally we saw a village on the hill,  men fishing, children playing, or women washing along the river. Overall, a very peaceful day, but after 9 hours on the river I was glad to see our stopping place for the night. Getting off the boat was a little challenging. Once again we had to balance on a small board while carrying all our stuff. But once the board ended there wasn't a good path to walk on.  Instead it was a sandy, rocky hill.

MeKong River

When we first saw PakBeng I thought it looked like a Cinque Terra  Asian style. But just a few steps into the town I decided that was not the case. We found a guesthouse which has the distinction of being the worst place we have stayed in so far! I crawled entirely in my sleep sack, pulled it over my head and actually slept well until the roosters started their cock-a-doodle-do thing before 5 in the morning. Apparently they thought everyone else should be awake too because they continued every 2-3 minutes.  When we finally left at 7:15, the rooster was right outside our window.

We returned to the boats to find the one we needed for day 2 of our journey and Seth noticed elephants across the river. We bought our tickets on board, the boat wasn't nearly as full so we could spread out a bit more than the previous day. When the motor started we were all certain it wasn't quite as loud either. Another beautiful day with more beautiful scenery. Then one of the boat workers ran to the front to stop the captain. I heard someone say broken water pump. So we pulled over to the shore while they made the necessary repairs. It really didn't take to long and then we were back on our journey along the gorgeous river.  The rest of the ride was peaceful with more beautiful scenery.  After 9 1/2 hours our time on the slow boat was over.  We spent our last night in a town called Huay Xai and in a few hours we will cross the border back into Thailand.

Elephants across from PakBeng

Elephants across from PakBeng

Jenna and Me while the boat is repaired

Me on the MaKong River

Sunset on the MeKong River

Sam doing some school

Even though we hadn't originally planned on visiting Laos, I am really glad we did.  We found a beautiful country where the pace of life seems to be a little more relaxed.  While I don't think I would plan a trip just to Laos, it's certainly worth a visit if you are in the area.